Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
I would like to share a message with you about a spiritual
virtue that many of us often overlook or struggle to cultivate. This virtue is
self-compassion. We are swift to extend love, understanding, and forgiveness to
others, but for offering the same to ourselves, we often fall short.
Understand that self-compassion is not an act of vanity or
selfishness. On the contrary, it is the acknowledgement of our human frailty
and the acceptance of our imperfections. It is the understanding that we are
bound to make mistakes, as we are not perfect beings. It is the gentle reminder
that in our weaknesses, God's strength is made perfect.
The first step in cultivating self-compassion is to
understand that God loves us unconditionally. In Romans 5:8, we are reminded
that "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us." This profound display of love
underscores the value God places on each one of us. He loves us in our
entirety, with our strengths and our flaws alike.
So, knowing that God loves us just as we are, why then do we
so harshly judge ourselves when we fall short of our expectations? It is high
time we embraced this divine love, that we allowed it to permeate our hearts
and start viewing ourselves the way God values us.
The second step in cultivating self-compassion is to
practice forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32 tells us, "Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you". If God, in His infinite grace, has forgiven us, who are
we to withhold forgiveness from ourselves?
Cultivating self-compassion also requires us to embrace our
weaknesses. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul shares the words of the Lord, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
We must remember that our weaknesses do not define us, but rather highlight the
strength of God in us.
In the journey of cultivating self-compassion, we become
more aware of our humanity and our need for God's grace. We become more patient
with ourselves, more understanding of our shortcomings, and more accepting of
our flaws. This is not to lift ourselves up, or to think more of ourselves than
we really are but to humbly accept God’s plan for us despite our imperfections.